User Segmentation: Motivation, Mindset & Behavior
State of Mind is Crucial
When segmenting users for product design & insights cases (Google) or product sense cases (Meta/Facebook) it is helpful to think in terms of motivations, mindsets, and behaviors, not demographics. You can also consider skill levels, depending on the prompt, as it might work, but skill levels can be closer to demographics than motivations or behaviors in some cases.
Our mindset is a set of beliefs that shape how we make sense of the world and ourselves. It influences how users think, feel, and behave in any given situation.
When empathizing with users, I also like to think about a perspective on a continuum of pain, as pain influences mindsets and motivations as well as core behaviors.
IRL
To those new to segmenting users for case questions, it can be easy to forget the basics. PMs do this for their day job, but the stress of the case format sometimes makes us forget that. When PMs develop personas, they think about more than just demographics. We think about what drives or motivates users to take action. What drives their pain? And what makes their perspective on a particular point different from others one might consider targeting.
In our real job, we might consider serving a more inclusive group of users. But during interviews, to illustrate our ability to empathize with users, we have to dive deep, quickly and logically. Focusing more on mindsets and motivations helps us show off our skills in case questions.
Below we break down some views on user segmentation to help with ‘rule of three’ groupings during case interviews. You can see by its core definition, motivation is defined by its relationship to behavior. So when doing these cases, motivation and behavior can often be considered as one.
WARNING: The groupings below are meant to aid you in interview prep. Please don’t get hung up on mindset vs motivation vs behavior. The lines are blurry for a reason. Pick the one or two that resonate and leverage them in your case practice. Kinda like mission and vision, they get used interchangeably, and even the smartest folks in the room might find themselves googling a definition in an argument.
Let’s dive in…
Motivation
Definition: the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.
Think: Fear, Pain, Urgency, Independence, Intensity, Magnitude, Relaxing, Work
In practice, pain, fear, or independence make great ways of thinking about anyone’s perspective on learning a new skill or tackling an unsolved problem.
For example, when talking about a prompt for kids, the elderly or disabled people, we might think about levels of independence, from highly independent to highly dependent. If you have an illness or physical issue, your need for a solution will be shaped by the intensity of your pain.
Sample Segments: Degree of pain (physical and mental)
High (think cancer)
Medium (think recovering from broken bones or sprains)
Low (think need preventive care)
OR
urgent care (high)
repeated but regular - think physical therapist (medium)
preventive care (low)
Note on Pain as Motivation: If you use pain as an organizing principle for users, don’t forget you still need to ‘double click’ into the pain points of the chosen user group after walking through the use journey.
Mindset
Definition: the established set of attitudes held by someone.
Think: Confident, Planner, Free Spirit, Adventure, Abundance, FOMO, Rules-Bound, Instinct, Reactive, Proactive
In practice, our decisions in life are shaped by our mindset, and so we might buy a product or seek out a product for different reasons.
For example, if we think about healthcare, a hypochondriac might constantly look things up, but someone with more of an avoidance attitude might ignore things.
Sample Segments: The Hypochondriac vs. Avoider
Hypochondriac, worried about everything and researching
Healthy concern, balanced view on common colds and ailments
Avoider, don’t seek help until it is impossible to ignore
Behavior
Definition: the way in which one acts or conducts oneself, especially toward others.
Think: Planner vs. Procrastinator
In practice, we think about someone’s behavior when stressed as proactive vs. reactive or passive vs. highly-engaged. A proactive planner will get everything organized.
For example, when considering a prompt for a productivity tool, we might think about using it when reacting to a need rather than being a planner who is proactive. Or a traveler might be a planner vs. a take-it-as-it-comes person.
Sample Segments: The Planner vs. The Procrastinator
The Planner
The Timely (mid-point)
The Procrastinator
Skill
Definition: the ability to do something well; expertise.
Think: Level of sophistication: novice, proficient vs expert
In practice, when we talk about skill levels, there are often subtle behaviors or motivations of someone in that category.
For example, with Creators you could think about skill levels, including some underlying assumptions. A novice Creator might not know where to start and feel overwhelmed. Where a proficient Creator might be seeking greater sophistication, meanwhile, an expert Creator might not think about tool usage as they have a staff.
Sample Segments: Skill Level
novice (tried once or twice)
proficient (regular practitioner)
expert (obsessed weekend warrior or semi-pro)
DO NOT DO THIS:
Just in case you are still thinking demographics make good user groupings, see below for what to avoid.
Demographic
relating to the structure of populations.
Think: Age, Income, ethnicity, etc.
In practice, demographics are too high-level and can make you come across as insensitive. For example, saying rich vs. poor. It is better to think about people from their more positive states, hard-workers with limited free time because they have multiple jobs vs. hard-workers with access to resources but limited time because they are over-committed.
For example, it might be better to think about the over-committed worker vs the under-leveraged employee who needs a more significant challenge.
Sample Segments: Income
Rich (wealthy, high-income)
Middle Class (majority, adequate disposable income)
Poor (low-income)
More Examples
Prompt: Design an app for an amusement park
Mindset/Motivation: Perspective Entertainment/Vacation
Sample Segments:
Thrill Seekers - Focused on most extreme rides
Experience - Focused on branded experience + some rides
Relaxation - Just want to unplug from life
Prompt: Design an app for crisis management
Mindset/Motivation/Skill: Ability to help themselves
Sample Segments:
Self-Sufficient - Adults who are un-injured
Semi-Independent - children, minor injuries, etc.
Highly-dependent - injured or elderly in homes
Prompt: Design a competitor to IMDB
Mindset/Motivation/Skill: Need for Knowledge of movies/tv
Sample Segments:
Occasionally Curious (what else was that actor in again?)
Die Hard Movie Buff (love Trivial Pursuit)
Movie Critics (creators, semi-pros, pros)
Remember, passion and fear drive so many decisions in life. Our desire for comfort or adventure shapes how we see things. We have all lost and won friends because of similar or different mindsets. Think about it… passion, frequency, fitness level….
Real World Example
Look at what Airbnb did with Summer 2022.
They realized people travel based on what motivates and drives them. They turned travel upside down by thinking about (1) travel based on the category of home and (2) understanding people travel like me, part of the time in one place and part of it in another. Check out the video here.